How many of you have gone to someone’s house and have seen their kid’s drawing attached to the fridge on top of at least 5 other drawings, in multiple spots? Okay, maybe it’s you too. The fridge used to be the place where proud parents would display a good grade or other accomplishment. This decade has taken it into the extreme as families have more access to paper and school supplies and do more projects at schools than past generations.
But guys, not everything has to go on the fridge. It doesn’t even really look good there. There are plenty of other ways to display artwork from your kids. And they’ll probably get a kick out of it too.
Gallery Wall Rail
This gallery wall rail is from Crate & Kids. You lift up the rail to reveal where the pages clip in. It has clean lines and is available in white or black.
Clothes Pin Clipped to a Wire
You can make your own or buy a cute pre-made one. This is basically a wire installed in the wall with clothes pins that clip the artwork to the wire. You can have it hang down a bit, or pull a thicker wire taught for a cleaner look. This version is great if it’s at kid height and they can put up their own work and curate it. I like this one from Kohl’s; This vertical one from Amazon; and this modern one from Pottery Barn (pictured).
Magnetic Scroll Hanging Frames
These frames can be hung with just one nail. The ends of the frame attach magnetically so they don’t ruin the artwork. The frame ends work with gravity to pull the art flat. It gives the gallery unity when you can get all the same frames instead of different pieces hanging on a line. You can pick the stain color, the size of the frame, and color of the cord. I like this one from Etsy:
Easy Change Frames
These frames look like regular picture frames, but they have a hinge that opens the front so that you can easily change out what art you put in. You won’t have to take the frame down, take out the backing and mat, change the art, and then clip all the pieces back in. And let’s face it, you’re more likely to hang it up if it’s easy to do. Target has one where you can also store the backup art inside the frame as well:
Art Books
A creative way to use Shutterfly, Snapfish, Plum Print, or another online photobook making service is to scan pictures of your kids’ art pieces and put them in a book. Since the scan flattens the image, you can “keep” more pieces.
You can do one book per child, or one book per year, etc. You can have your kids choose which pieces they want to add to the book. Page limits and pricing provide a boundary for how much you can keep. These will be super cool art yearbooks. You can even put classwork in it, depending on what you decide to keep.
Since photo books are printed on acid free paper, the pages don’t yellow and you can keep the true colors for longer. Any 3D pieces are flattened into their scanned image and are now storable. You can even take photos of sculptures, Lego builds, paper mache, or other 3D pieces without having to keep the actual bulky item.
My parents still have the clay “Mars” planet I made in preschool. I am in my mid-thirties. Clay aside, remember the rude quote, “take a picture, it will last longer?” It’s kinda true.
Another cute idea you can do is to take a picture of your child’s room each birthday and add it to the beginning or end of their photobook. At the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, they have an exhibit of teen’s rooms set up to look like each decade. If you were in the 80s, there would be tape decks, walkmans, neon leggings and scrunchies, etc. It’s a photo time capsule.
Once your photobook comes in the mail and you are satisfied, don’t forget the most important step. Get rid of the originals! Now you have them forever in a more stable format. And now you have space on your fridge and countertops and overflowing folders!
There are also a lot of apps out there now, where you can take pictures of the artwork and save it and even order keepsake items with the company’s services. Read my post on Apps that preserve your kids’ artwork.
What to Keep
With the amount of projects that kids pump out from their various school and extracurricular activities, you can’t display it all. You can’t keep it all.
Here’s the criteria I would go by to stash or trash:
- Do you even know what they did a piece of? Is it a cat? A spaceship? If you have no idea and it’s not remarkable, you don’t have to keep it. Your own child might not even remember.
- Do you like it? Do they like it? Maybe each month, they pick 5 of their favorites that they completed and you can pick 5 favorites if they don’t overlap. This way you are curating “the best” pieces in your family’s minds.
- Is it completely representative of who they are at the time? Scan it in.
Take the time to talk about what the piece is, when and where they made it, and any special memories. Write notes down. If you’re scanning them into Shutterfly, you can add notes underneath the pictures that will appear in the book. Always add the date to look back on later. (I did THAT when I was 5?!) Other notes can be typed on a sticky label and attached to the back of the piece. Make sure it’s acid free so neither paper will ruin the other.
Store Them Properly
Now that you have culled the collection to the best of hits, make sure you store the pieces properly so they aren’t damaged (unless of course you’re scanning them into a book, then put it on your shelf or get an acrylic book display to face it out)
Paper does not like light, acid and moisture. Don’t put things to preserve in clear containers. Sunlight will fade the pieces. I like to use art portfolios that are water resistant, acid free, opaque and large to fit all sizes of work. So for the pieces that you absolutely must keep in the original form, try these folios from Michael’s or splurge on Blick. 20″ X 26″ should be big enough for all their papers.
Hopefully now you are no longer covered in schoolwork and papers and art pieces. You have a few new, quality pieces for your family to enjoy displayed. The rest of the keepsakes are stored safely for later. And a lot of it is in the garbage… right, right?! Don’t keep spelling tests, etc. Don’t sweat the small stuff.